Heater



y 1, 1936. J. c. CLINEFELTER 2,048,104

HEATER Filed March 2, 1932 NVENTOR James Cllinefe lrer BY M ATTORNEYPatented July 21, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HEATER James 0.Olinefelter, Akron, Ohio Application March 2, 1932, Serial No. 596,228

4 Claims. (01. 219-38) This invention relates to heaters, and moreespecially it relates to heaters for imparting a high heat to fluidssuch as water, air, steam or gases.

The invention has been used advantageously in the rubber industry forsuper-heating air or steam for use in the interior of inner tubes andthe like during vulcanization, and in this situation it has reduced thetime required for vulcanization, and has improved the article in thatthe state of vulcanization is more uniform, oxidation is diminished andthe vulcanizing interval is shortened.

The chief object of the invention is to provide an improved, simple, andcompact heater of the character mentioned. A more specific object is toprovide for more eflicient heat transfer from a heating member to thefluid to be heated. Other objects will be manifest.

Of the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a vertical section through a heater embodying the inventionin its preferred form;

Figure 2 is a vertical section through another embodiment of theinvention.

Referring to Figure 1 of the drawing, III is a tubular shell or housinghaving respective top and bottom caps II, I! that are welded orotherwise secured thereto. An immersion type electrical heating elementI3 is axially positioned within the housing ill, said element beingsupported by the top cap Ii with which it may have threaded connection.The heating element i3 extends nearly to the bottom of the housing I! asshown, and the usual electrical conductor wires H extend from its upperend, exteriorly of the housing.

Mounted within the housing ll concentrically of the heating element I3are one or more concentric coils l5, lli consisting of a plurality ofadjacent helical convolutions of a single metal pipe H, the respectiveends of said pipe extending through top cap II and being provided withrespective couplings l8, l8 for convenient attachment to otherfluid-conducting pipes. Preferably the convolutions of the coils II, I!are-spaced from each other, and from the heating element and housingwall.

The interior of the housing to not otherwise occupied is filled withheat-conducting material 20 that extends nearly to the under side of thetop cover II, and said material preferably consists of metal having areasonably low melting point, such as lead or a lead-tin alloy whichwill fuse on the surfaces of the heating element It and coils l5 and Itto insure complete contact of these parts with the heat conductingmaterial. It is also possible to use a liquid having a high boilingpoint as a heat-conducting medium, such as linseed oil. Preferably theexterior of the heater is covered with a layer 2| of suitableheatinsulating material, such as an asbestos composition.

In the operation of the device, electric current is passed through theheating element II by means of conductor wires H, the metal 20conducting the heat by radiation to pipe II. Furthermore, when theheating element becomes sufllciently hot to fuse the metal 20 and reduceit to a fluid state, convection currents set up in the molten metal 20cause it to circulate around and between the convolutions of the pipe I1 so that all of said convolutions are substantially uniformly heated tothe same temperature as the molten metal. Thus air or steam passedthrough the pipe H is likewise heated.

The device is simple in construction, cheap to manufacture, andefficient in operation. Insulation 2| may be applied to the exterior ofthe device of such thickness that while a reasonable that the heatingelement is inadvertently left inoperative or heating condition when nofluid is being passed through the pipe ll.

The embodiment of the invention shown in F18- ure 2 is identical withthat shown in Figure 1 except that the pipe I! and coils l5, ii areomitted, and in their stead are employed an inlet pipe 23 and an outletpipe 2!, both of which extend through the top cover ll of the housingIt). The inlet pipe extends downwardly into the heat conducting material2i! to a point near the bottom of the housing, and the lower end of theoutlet pipe 24 is positioned just below the top cap I I, above the levelof the material 20 when the latter is heated. Thus when fluid such asair or steam is passed into the heater through the pipe 23, it emergesfrom the latter and passes upwardly through the liquid material 20 inthe form of bubbles, taking heat from said liquid by direct contacttherewith, and passes out of the heater through pipe 24,

Modification may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claimswhich are not limited wholly to the specific construction shown anddescribed.

What is claimed is:

1. In a heater, the combination of a sealed housing, a heating elementdisposed therein, heat conducting metal in intimate contact with andsurrounding said heating element, and means for passing fluid to beheated through said heat conducting material, said means being inintimate contact with said heat conducting metal.

2. In a heater, the combination of a housing, an electrical heatingelement disposed therein, a coil of pipe adapted to convey fluid to beheated therethrough, and heat conducting material consisting oi a metalin the housing surrounding said heating element and in contact with saidheating element and with said pipe coil.

3. In a heater, the combination of a heating element, a body of metallicheat conducting medium surrounding said heating element. a conduit inintimate contact with said metallic heat conducting medium adapted tohave fluid passed therethrough to be heated through said heat conductingmedium, the metallic heat conducting medium having a lower melting pointthan the temperature of said heating element whereby at least theportion of the metallic heat conducting medium immediately surroundingthe heating element will be melted during operation of the heater tomake an intimate contact with said heating element.

4. In a heater adapted for supplying a heated fluid at definiteintervals, the combination of a heating element, a body of metallic heatconducting medium surrounding said heating element, a conduit inintimate contact with said metallic heat conducting medium adapted tohave fluid passed therethrough at definite intervals to be heatedthrough said heat conducting medium, and an insulating jacketsurrounding said body of heat conducting medium, the characteristics ofthe insulation, the heating element and the heat conducting medium beingpredetermined so that the desired quantity of heat is stored in the heatconducting medium between said definite intervals. whereby a thermostatis not required.

JAIIES C. CLINEFELTER.

